The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission authorized funding for a 90-day pilot by Hamilton Relay of real-time texting technology for low-income people who need assistance communicating. Commissioners voted 4-0 Thursday to use funding from the state telecom relay service fund, the agency said. The pilot will include 50 participants and help the PUC decide if wireline RTT devices should be included in the TRS telecom device distribution program, it said. Hamilton will notify the commission 20 days before starting the pilot and confirm its proposed $167,575 cost then, a PUC spokesperson said.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission authorized funding for a 90-day pilot by Hamilton Relay of real-time texting technology for low-income people who need assistance communicating. Commissioners voted 4-0 Thursday to use funding from the state telecom relay service fund, the agency said. The pilot will include 50 participants and help the PUC decide if wireline RTT devices should be included in the TRS telecom device distribution program, it said. Hamilton will notify the commission 20 days before starting the pilot and confirm its proposed $167,575 cost then, a PUC spokesperson said.

Comments are due May 29, replies June 5, on a request from Sprint for interim waiver and rate relief for its IP relay service, and for a proposed change in per-minute interstate compensation rates for the telecom relay services fund in funding year 2020-21, said a Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau public notice Friday for dockets including 03-123.

The FCC extended waivers to help telecom relay service and video relay service providers offer quicker access to subscribers amid concerns over longer wait times during COVID-19 (see 2005080034), in an order Thursday. Two renewed waivers plus two new ones, including allowing registered VRS users to make calls to the U.S. from abroad during the national emergency, are all through June 30.

The FCC seeks comment by May 4, replies May 11 on a petition for emergency waiver and declaratory ruling by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and eight other consumer advocacy groups, said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Monday on docket 03-123. Groups want temporary waiver of telecommunications relay services user registration and per-call validation rules during COVID-19.

Missouri’s telecom relay service is having higher call volumes and longer calls due to COVID-19, resulting in longer wait times, the Missouri Public Service Commission said Thursday. Average call time is five to eight minutes, up from two to three minutes normally, the PSC said. Missouri relay service provider Sprint reported higher wait times amid the pandemic Wednesday (see 2003250055).

Wait times for Sprint services like telecom relay services, captioned phone and IP relay calls may increase during periods of high call volume amid COVID-19, said Global Vice President-Sprint Accessibility Mike Ellis Wednesday. Sprint is complying with all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and Department of Homeland Security guidelines to ensure employee health and safety, he said. The company hasn't closed any call centers but expects staffing could be affected.

An FCC Disability Advisory Committee resolution seeks changes to how privacy of telecom relay service users is protected. The agency should require that data is stored only as long as necessary to fulfill the requirements of the user registration database, and that records are destroyed immediately thereafter, DAC said Wednesday.

Hamilton Relay supported an FCC NPRM to repeal equal access and billing options requirements as applied to traditional telecom relay service, non-IP forms of captioned telephone service, and speech-to-speech offerings, in comments posted Friday in docket 03-123. "Equal access is unnecessary because Hamilton does not charge any of its users (including its TRS, CTS, and STS users) for long distance services, and increasingly users are migrating to IP-based and wireless services that render equal access inapplicable," the company said. "Forcing Hamilton and other providers to build and maintain the infrastructure necessary to come into compliance with the currently-waived requirements would impose an unnecessary burden." Replies are due Feb. 13.

Comments are due Feb. 13, replies March 16 on an FCC proposal to adopt new rules for the telecom relay service USF program and the national deaf-blind equipment distribution program, says Tuesday's Federal Register on docket 19-309. The rules are consistent with OMB guidelines on government debarment and suspension (see 1911260003).